The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Trust Fund (NSIA) has recognized the outstanding achievements of MoneyAfrica and nine other Nigerian start-ups by awarding them a total of $225,000 in the NSIA Prize for Innovation.
The top three winners received a combination of cash and equity, while the remaining seven winners received cash prizes.
MoneyAfrica, a promising start-up, emerged as the overall winner, securing a cash prize of $25,000. Extension Africa (Exaf) claimed the second position and received a cash prize of $17,500, while LegitCar secured the third position with a cash prize of $12,500.
The remaining seven start-ups, namely Apace Tech Solutions, Capsa Technology, CreditCheck, Kobopay, TrueQ, Vela Finance, and Ya-Lo Technologies, all shared the fourth position, each receiving a cash prize of $5,000.
The selection process began with a review of 2,000 entries, followed by six months of refining and developing ideas through two rounds of eliminations. The final stage involved a Demo Day held in Lagos, where the top 10 start-ups presented their ideas before a panel of judges and an audience that included banking executives and venture capital company representatives.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive of NSIA, speaking at the Demo Day, emphasized the organization’s commitment to empowering Nigerian innovators and supporting the rise of the digital economy.
The NSIA Prize for Innovation seeks to catalyze the limitless spirit of innovation prevalent throughout Nigeria, recognizing niche and multifaceted entries.
While the cash awards and event impact the winners directly, the NSIA’s core strategy aims to attract third-party capital, enabling innovators to secure funding from financiers worldwide.
The NSIA has demonstrated its ability to leverage global funding partnerships to address infrastructure needs across sectors.
Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General of the Nigeria Technology Development Agency, praised the ten finalists, highlighting the potential for job creation in Nigeria’s digital economy.
He emphasized that lack of financing often contributes to the failure of start-ups at their initial stages and commended the NSIA Prize for Innovation for its role in positioning Nigeria for accelerated job creation.
Abdullahi also discussed NITDA’s efforts to promote start-ups, mentioning the implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act and the establishment of a start-up investment Seed Fund.
He said the agency aims to secure at least N100 billion per annum to seed 1,000 early-stage start-ups and 400 late-stage start-ups, potentially generating over 80,000 jobs in Nigeria.
